The First Use of Forks (Vol. i, pp. 249, 274).—It is an absolute fact that the use of the fork in England was at first ridiculed as an "effeminate piece of finery." Ben Jonson was one of those who held it in contempt. In "Devil's an Ass" he makes Meercraft say to Gilthead and Sledge:

"Have I deserved this from you two for all my pains at court to get you each a patent? Gilthead-For what?

Meercraft-Upon my project of forks. Sledge-Forks! What be they? Meercraft The laudible use of forks, brought into custom here as they are in Italy, to the sparing o' napkins."

It is pretty evident that forks were not used in England before the reign of James the First. In the year 1611 a book entitled "Coryat's Crudities, Hastily Gobbled Up in Five Months' Travels in France, Savoy, Italy, Rhaetia, Helvetia (alias Switzerland), Some Parts of High Germany and the Netherlands", the author says: "Here I will mention a thing that might have been spoken of before in discourse of the first Italian towne. I observed a custome in all those Italian cities and townes through which I passed, that is not used in any other country that I saw in my travels; neither do I think that any other nation of Christendome doth use it, but why Italy? The Italian, and also most strangers that are commorant in Italy, do alwaies at their meales use a little forke, when they cut their meate.

"For while with their knife, which they hold in one hand, they cut the meate out of the dish, they fasten their forke, which they hold in the other hand, upon the same dish. So that whotsoever he be that sitting in the company of any others at meale, should unadvisedly touch the dish of meate with his fingers from which all the table doe cut, he will give occasion of offence unto the company, as having transgressed the laws of good manners; insomuch that for his error he shall be at least brow-beaten, if not reprehended in wordes.

"This forme of feeding, I understand, is generally used in all places in Italy, their forkes being, for the most part, made of iron or steele, and some of silver, but those are used only by gentlemen. The reason of this their curiosity is, because the Italian cannot by any means indure to have his dish touched

with fingers, seeing all men's fingers are not alike cleane. Hereupon I myself thought good to imitate the Italian fashion by the forked cutting of meate, not only while I was in Italy, but also in Germany, and oftentimes in England, since I came home, being once quipped for that frequent using of my forke by a certain learned gentleman, a familiar friend of mine, one Master Laurence Whitaker, who, in his merry humor, doubted not at table to call one Furcifer, only for using a forke at feeding, but for no other cause."

Spanish Sailors' Superstition. The presence of the Spanish school ship Nautilus in the [New York] North river recalls a curious custom in vogue on war vessels of that nationality. It originated in superstition and has long been the subject of many jeers from English-speaking mariners.

Years ago, so the legend runs, a Spanish man-of-war was lost under peculiar circumstances. The ship was careening before a Levant breeze when suddenly the heavens grew dark with an approaching squall. It became necessary to shorten sail quickly and the seamen were hurried to their stations. The vessel heeled under her bellying canvas and the sailors tugged at the clew lines, but not a sheet would start.

As a last resort the halyards were cut, and under ordinary circumstances the yards would have fallen upon the caps and spilled the wind out of the sails. But they remained mast-headed, and in a few minutes the vessel capsized. It was afterward discovered that the sheaves, through which the ropes for shortening sail were rove, had been so tightly plugged up with sticks and other small obstructions that it was impossible for the ropes to slide through. It was urged that no human agency could have done it, and the deed was laid at the door of the

evil one.

Shortly after the fateful occurrence a general order was promulgated directing that the crew of every Spanish war vessel be sent aloft to chase his Majesty out of the sheave holes every evening at sundown.

From that day to the present it has been the custom of the crew to go aloft for this purpose when the colors are lowered at sunset. They scramble up the rigging as the flag comes down, run out upon the yard arms and closely examine every hole and crevice. (N. Y. Times.)

Solid Fog."The deleterious influence of fogs [in general, and London fogs in particular] may be estimated from some results obtained from examination and analysis last month at Kew Gardens. The director speaks of the leaves as being covered with a substance like brown paint "tarry hydrocarbon "which can only be scraped off with a knife. On analysis this shows over fifty-one per cent of carbon and hydrocarbon, with forty-one

per cent of metallic iron, magnetic oxide of iron, and mineral water. Any one, at all acquainted with the physiology of plants and animals, can apprehend in a moment how such a mixture must affect both the lungs of men and the leaves-which are the lungsof plants, as regards respiration." (The Young Man).

A Peculiar Family Register.-In the cheese regions of Switzerland a custom prevails for the friends of a bride and bridegroom to join in the presentation to them on their wedding-day of an elaborate cheese. The cheese is used as a family register and heirloom, on which the births, deaths and marriages of its various members are recorded. Some of these old cheeses date back to 1660. At a recent agricultural show, held at Gessenay, one of these cheeses, from 170 to 180 years old, was exhibited by a country squire. The cheese had been an heirloom in a family residing in the Canton of Vaud, after which it became the property of its present possessor who resides in the Canton of Berne. (TitBits, London.)

Saturday and the Royal Family of Great Britain. It is said that the ill-starred Prince Eddie, to whom you have referred before (Vol. viii, p. 156), had a dread (which proved groundless) of dying on Saturday.

As a fact, if I be not misinformed, William III died Saturday, March 18, 1702; Queen Anne died Saturday, August 1, 1714; George I died Saturday, June 10, 1727; George II died Saturday, October 25, 1760; George III died Saturday, January 29, 1820; George IV died Saturday, June 26, 1830; the Duchess of Kent died Saturday, March 16, 1861; the Prince Consort, husband of Queen Victoria and grandfather of the recent Prince Albert Victor, died Saturday, December 14, 1861; Princess Alice, of Hesse-Darmstadt, Victoria's second daughter and sister of Albert, died Saturday, December 14, 1878.

TOURIST.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

AMICUS. We get our copy ready early so as to give our new printer every chance of issuing the paper on time, every week. Please send as early as possible any matter intended for the current number.

Vol. VIII. No. 15.

American Notes and Queries

PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY

THE WESTMINSTER PUBLISHING COMPANY,

619 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.

Communications for the literary department should be addressed: Editor AMERICAN NOTES AND QUERIES. All checks and money orders to be made payable to the order of The Westminster Publishing Company.

CONTENTS.

NOTES:-Dr. Murray's "New English Dictionary on Historical Principles," 169. The Literary Necrology of 1891 (a correction)-Oliver Cromwell-Natchez, 170. What is Good?-Betula-And All For a Lawyer ! 171.

QUERIES:-Motto of Massachusetts-Spade Guinea-"Hoo"

-Venus Pandemos-Halgerda-Bank of England Notes
-Authorship of Greek Quotation Wanted-The Whole
Duty of Man, 172.

REPLIES:-Lund Washington-Cheese-Fed Philosopher, 172.
Holtselster, Holtfelster- Bisk-Witch of Berkeley-

Whistling as a Speech-"The Father of His Country,"

173. Yankee Song Wanted-Adetrolical Educator-Date

of Importation, 174. Married Cardinals-Growth of Hair

After Death-Keat's Rhymes, 175.

COMMUNICATIONS:-The 100 Puzzle-Can Animals Talk?

$3.00 per year. $1,75, 6 months. $1.00, 3 months. 10 cents per number.

NOTES.

DR. MURRAY'S "NEW ENGLISH DICTIONARY ON HISTORICAL PRINCIPLES."

Clerkless.

(Vol. viii, p. 121, etc.)

The last date assigned by Murray for this word in the sense of "without a clerk," is 1478-80; for the second sense, that of "illiterate," he gives the date of 1653. But the word in the earlier sense, occurs in Ruskin's Præterita, vol. iii, (1880). Four hundred and nine years later than Murray's example.

Accostment. The only example of this word in the N. E. D., bears the date of 1652? [sic]; but the leading character in Miss F. C. Baylor's pathetic story, "Behind the Blue Ridge," (1887) is made to say of his deceased wife," Her accostment was better than most.”

Citharedicall. "Such was the playerlike citharedicall life of this lewd vitious Emperour," says William Prynne.

This is 150 years older than Murray's citharœdic. Nashe's Lenten St. Stuffe, 1598. Conducibleness. This words occurs in The first example in the N. E. D. bears date 1647.

Collachrymatiou. This word occurs in Nashe's "Unfortunate Traveler," 1593,— several years before the earliest of Murray's examples, which is from Cockeram's dictionary, 1632.

Cinquanter. Nashe, in his Saffron Walden (1596), speaks of "a tall old sinkThis is fifteen years earlier than Dr. Murray's oldest example.

180.

Augurate, as a verb transitive, meaning to divine, occurs in Nashe's Lenten Stuffe

(written 1598), twenty-five years earlier than Dr. Murray's earliest example.

Clubbery. The N. E. D., inserts this as a "nonce-word," bearing the date of 1835; but the dictum "clubbery is organized egotism," occurs in Thackeray's" Men's Wives," 1843.

NATCHEZ.

After the massacre of the French garrison and inhabitants of Natchez, Mississippi (1729) and the third French-Natchez war (1730), the remnants of these Indians were dispersed. One portion was received among the Chicasas, and from there went over to the Creeks. By these they were settled on an eastern tributary of Coosa river, near Abikudshi town, and when the general re

Accentless. Dr. Murray cites only one example, and takes that from Max Müller (1879); but the word occurs in Ebenezer Elliott's poem The Exile, which is some forty years older in date.

THE LITERARY NECROLOGY OF 1891. (A CORRECTION.)

G.

In our issue of January 23, p. 146, we reproduced from The Critic an obituary list in which the name of Mrs. Elizabeth (Croom) Bellamy was erroneously inserted. We are delighted to hear that The Critic (usually so well informed) was in this case misled by a newspaper paragraph," and we hasten to present our congratulations to the esteemed authoress.

ED. AM. N. & Q.

OLIVER CROMWELL.

One who as a boy lived in the city of Londonderry, Ireland, in the early part of this century, told me many years ago that the boys there, on some holiday, (could it have been the Fifth of November?) had a procession in which among other characters Oliver Cromwell appeared. Each actor recited a verse or two, describing himself. The only one I remember was Cromwell's, which I have never seen recorded, and therefore present to AMERICAN NOTES AND QUERIES for preservation as a curiosity.

Here come I, Oliver Cromwell, with my copper nose, I ruled well over England, as you may suppose: I cut off the King's head, and I made the French quake, And I beat the jolly Dutchmen till I made their hearts ache." It seems strange that such plain, not to say treasonable, speaking should be allowed even from unruly boys.

HIBERNICUS.

took place (1836-1840) they emigrated with them. Some who still speak the language live at Abika, ten miles from Eufaula railroad station; others exist in the Cherokee country. I learned from an old Natchez man of Abika that their tribal name should be pronounced Ná'htchi (with a long); it probably contains a Caddo word meaning "woods," " 'forest," and the name of the Neches river, in eastern Texas, may be of the same origin. Ramsey, in his "Annals of Tennessee,' about Yuchees having been settled among the Cherokees on the Hiyawassi river; but when Mr. Mooney visited these parts in 1890 he was informed by a responsible authority, Wafford, that this statement resulted from a confounding of Aniyútsi, the Cherokee form for "Yuchi people," with Aniná’htsi, "Natchez people," and that the tribe referred to were real Natchez, who had there a

speaks

regular town incorporated with the Cherokees.' They arrived there with the Creeks (1760-1770), and Wafford, who is now ninety years of age, remembers that in his youth they spoke their paternal language. Subsequently the Cherokees drove out the Creeks, but the Natchez were allowed to re

main.

The Natchez who live in the Creek nation have been incorporated into their confederacy and have accepted the Creek totems, with the exception of three. The ruling class among them was called the "Suns," and they appear to have been simply a clan or gens of that name. The French report that they called the sun wà shithl, "great fire," but to-day this celestial body is called by them wi' ta kwakship, "day luminary." Sun and moon gentes exist also among the Maricopas on Gila river, Arizona: nyà-ash, sun; khalash, moon; and among the Ottawas, kshi' ki ki' sis tu' täm and tepi' ki ki' sis tu' täm, "day-sun totem" and "night-sun totem,